Hurricane Nolo Strengthens to Category 3 Over the Remote Pacific

Hurricane Nolo rapidly intensified into a major hurricane Saturday over the Pacific Ocean, far west of Hawaii’s main islands.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds climbed to 115 mph (185 kph), making Nolo a Category 3 hurricane, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

Nolo was positioned about 210 miles (335 kilometers) south-southwest of Maro Reef and was moving west at 17 mph (28 kph).

A tropical storm warning was issued for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a vast and remote federally protected region encompassing islands, atolls, seamounts, shoals and coral reefs. The warning covered the area from Maro Reef to Lisianski Island.

The hurricane center warned that Nolo’s powerful surf “will likely inundate some of the low-lying atolls.”

Forecasters said no populated islands were threatened by the storm.

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Nolo was expected to cross the international date line on Sunday, according to the hurricane center.

The hurricane passed near Hawaii a week earlier before weakening into a tropical storm. Nolo regained hurricane strength Friday and continued to intensify in the open Pacific.

Elsewhere in the Pacific, Category 1 Hurricane Rachel was also moving west, tracking away from Mexico’s west coast.

The National Hurricane Center forecast dangerous swells along the west-central coast of Mexico through the weekend and around the Baja California Peninsula through Monday.